U.S. Pat. No. 4,741,371 which issued to Lord in 1988 discloses an invention entitled "Jig for Bending a Hockey Stick Blade". The apparatus disclosed is especially adapted to perform the task of placing a curve on hockey stick. Prior to the development of the Lord apparatus the task of placing a curve on a hockey stick was performed manually. The Lord apparatus consists of a rigid plate on which are mounted two parallel longitudinal guide tracks. Support members are mounted to the plate at either end of the guide tracks. A pressure member is provided which is mounted to and movable along the guide tracks. In order to use the Lord apparatus, a blade of a hockey stick is placed on the support members. The pressure member is then moved along the guide tracks to a selected pressure point on the hockey stick blade. The pressure member is then used to apply pressure to create a curve.
The Lord apparatus permits a trainer for a hockey team to control the depth of the curve by adjusting the amount of pressure exerted by the pressure member. The Lord apparatus also permits the trainer to position the curve at either the tip, heel or mid-point of the blade by sliding the pressure member along the guide rails. Unfortunately, the Lord apparatus has inherent limitations which render it unsuitable for making some types of curves.